I know very few writers who outline fully before they start. It just doesn't seem possible to do, because so many things don't come out until you're absolutely knee-deep in the world.

I write about kids growing up, I write a lot about schools and parents, and all of my experiences with those things have been suburban experiences.

Apparently even the most awful tragedies, and the people they'd ruined, got a little stale after a while.

I did a lot of reading of the Bible and became fascinated with the idea of the Rapture. It's pretty wild. I hadn't heard of it until I was in college.

It just so happened that for most of my life I've lived in the suburbs.

I have actual dreams of Bruce Springsteen calling me up on stage to wear a bandanna and play rhythm guitar next to Little Steven.

I've been a little bit obsessed with religion, without being a religious person, for about a decade.